Sodium azide is used almost exclusively for the preservation of aqueous solutions in diagnostic test sets. The problem of the destruction of azides from wastes is referred to in the literature; however, there are no useful solutions to this problem known from the prior art. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,768,865, it is proposed to store salt solutions polluted with azide in underground caverns until they are essentially free of azide, and then to pump the solutions to the earth's surface again. In J. Chem. Educ. 62, 93 (1985), it is mentioned that oxidation with cerium(IV) ammonium sulfate is a frequently described method for the destruction of inorganic azides, but the reaction takes place extremely slowly and is not satisfactory.
Until now, there was no suitable method for the disposal of azides in wastes. The invention is therefore based on the object of making available a means and process which avoid the disadvantages described and enable destruction of azides which spares the environment, i.e. which give no harmful degradation products.